That’s not why we’re here, though. Tonight we’re just watching out for Adeline. Making sure this oversized creep doesn’t take advantage of her.
Aiden chuckles like we’re all idiots and when the server comes around to take Brooks’s drink order, he grins at her. “What’s the best thing on the menu?”
“Most people order the filet but the porterhouse is fantastic as well.”
Nostrils flaring, Brooks hands her his menu. “We’ll take one of each.”
Aiden bounces in his seat. “And the lobster mac and cheese for the table too.”
I place my order for a steak and am quickly distracted by Adeline’s laugh again. “What in god’s name could be so funny?” I grumble.
My father tilts closer. “Maybe he’s got a good sense of humor.”
“What do we know about him?” Aiden asks.
Beckett leans back in his chair, his whiskey glass dangling from his fingers. A Hanson gold blend, of course. “Thirty-two,” he says, “hedge fund manager. Oldest of three, two younger sisters, family lives in Newburyport. He talks to his father daily, mother twice a week,” His lip curls on one side in displeasure. “Went to college at Notre Dame and played football—defense.”
“Fuck, did you get his social security number too?” Dad chuckles.
“Zero-three-two?—”
Jaw dropping, Dad lurches forward.
Beckett’s green eyes sparkle with mischief. “I’m kidding. No. But I do know he owns his apartment, has no kids, and has no divorces under his belt.”
That wasn’t meant to be a jab in my direction, but it hits me in my gut anyway.
I never wanted kids.Adeline’s words from years ago plague me.
“Thirty-two and single,” Brooks mumbles. “I wonder why?”
Aiden coughs out a laugh. “Maybe he’s been saving himself for the perfect woman.”
Brooks gives him a surly look I don’t understand and don’t have the energy to dig into.
“He’s not wrong,” my father agrees. “Why is someone so seemingly perfect on paper still single?”
“Look at Adeline,” Beckett counters. “The same could be said for her.” He lifts his chin, his focus landing on me. “Maybe someone strung him along for a while and he’s just now realizing it’s time to start fresh.”
Okay, that was definitely aimed at me. Clearly, Beckett is still pissed about what went down four years ago. Can’t blame him, I guess. But I never got the impression that he held a grudge. No one knows what really happened anyway. And on top of that, he invited me to live inhis damn home with his daughter. But fuck, there’s really no other way to take what he’s saying.
“I’m going to run to the bathroom.” I heave myself up and stride away without waiting for anyone else to acknowledge me. I don’t even look toward Adeline’s table. I just get the fuck out. I need a little quiet so I can breathe and figure out how the fuck I’m going to convince Beckett that I’m good for his daughter. Because it seems that convincing him might be just as hard as convincing her.
My foot hits the tile in the hallway outside the bathroom half a second before a fist slams into my chest, pushing me against the wall.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Breath held, I take in Adeline. A very pissed off, very beautiful, Adeline.
Her lips are painted a gorgeous red, her cheeks are flushed—probably from all that laughing she’s done tonight—and her brown eyes are wild.
And then there’s the goddamn outfit.
The black blouse has the thinnest of strings for straps, showing off her incredibly toned arms, with a neckline that dips low, exposing cleavage she never shows off. That’s as far as I make it before she hits me again. “Eyes up here, asshole.”
With a groan, I roll my neck. “Sorry, I’m just, thrown by—” I shake my head and motion toward her top.
She bites down on her tongue and huffs. “I told the girls it looked ridiculous.”
